01.27.10

Summary: An accumulation of new information about Microsoft’s i4i fallout and use of software patents against its most potent competition, GNU/Linux

LAST night we reminded readers that Apple's patents are a threat to GNU/Linux. Apple is already using them against Linux. We presented coverage from the past week in order to support this contention. Now we come to Microsoft, which is extremely busy on the patent front.

Microsoft today said that retailers can continue to sell unmodified versions of Word 2007, even though a court order that required the company to remove custom XML technology from the software took effect Monday.

The criminal enterprise known as Microsoft finds itself embarrassingly exposed in the courtroom, for the IRS belatedly (decades too late) targets the company in an effort to tackle massive tax evasions

A look at some of last week's patent news, with imperative responses that criticise corporate exploitation of patents for protectionism (excluding and/or driving away the competition using legal threats)

Vista 10 to bring new ways for spies (and other crackers) to remotely access people's computers and remotely modify the binary files on them (via Windows Update, which for most people cannot be disabled)